Justin Peters relieved Braden Holtby after the fourth goal Friday and shut down the Dallas Stars the remainder of the way.

It did not do any good as the Capitals lost 4-2 Friday night with Peters stopping all nine shots sent his way. Peters remains 3-5-1 this season and lowered his GAA to 3.38 while raising his save percentage to .879. Mar 14 - 11:05 AM

Peters' winless slump is finally over. The Capitals' backup goaltender had previously lost three consecutive starts but he hadn't collected a win since November 8th. It's a good thing that Braden Holtby has been a rock between the pipes for Washington, because Peters' numbers haven't been very flattering. His record improves to 3-5-1 and he has an ugly 3.52 goals-against-average and a .875 save percentage. Feb 15 - 11:01 PM

Depth Charts

Backstrom is making any promises though as he'll have to wait and see how his recovery goes. Capitals coach Barry Trotz recently expressed uncertainty about Backstrom's availability for the start of the regular season. Backstrom spent most of the 2014-15 campaign playing through his hip injury.

The Washington Capitals have inked Evgeny Kuznetsov to a two-year, $6 million contract extension.

Kuznetsov had 11 goals and 37 points in 80 contests in 2014-15. He has a lot of potential and should take a big step forward in 2015-16 given that he has a year and change worth of North American experience now. That being said, this bridge deal makes sense for both sides. The Capitals are managing their risk while Kuznetsov is setting himself up for a bigger payday if he develops as projected.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis does not believe the team’s window to win a Stanley Cup is closing.

The Capitals were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round in seven games by the Rangers, but there were noticeable improvements under first-year coach Barry Trotz. Captain Alex Ovechkin will turn 30 in September. "I felt the window to win with him was 10 years old," Leonsis said at Capitals Fan Fest. "He's a fantastic player. He plays hard all the time, and I feel I haven't met my commitment to him, that we would build a team that would be able to win Stanley Cups. The difference between winning and losing is just so small, so I do not think our window as an organization is closing."

Marcus Johansson has been awarded a one-year, $3.75 million contract from Washington in arbitration.

Johansson set new career-highs last season with 20 goals and 47 points in 82 games. He had requested a $4.75 million salary while Washington countered at $3 million, so the arbitrators ruling was ultimately near the middle. It represents a significant increase from his 2014-15 salary of $2,175,000.

Jason Chimera notched a goal and an assist in Game 6 versus the Rangers on Sunday.

He got the Capitals on the board just 28 seconds into the second period after the Rangers scored twice in the opening stanza. Chimera added an assist on Joel Ward's goal in the third. He has three goals and seven points in 13 postseason contests.

Brooks Laich is excited to work on his game in the off-season and not worry about his health.

"Last couple years I've been concerned about health and so I've been focusing on rehab, and a lot of my days were spent skating without pucks to try and make sure my legs were there and this year I don't have to worry about my legs being there," Laich said. "I can do stick drills, I can do puck drills, I can do hands drills, I can shoot more pucks, more stuff thats going to help me out offensively, rather than just being able to skate." He still missed some time in 2014-15 because of a shoulder injury, but his troublesome groin held up to the grind of the season. Unfortunately, he recorded just seven goals and 20 points in 66 games.

St. Louis Blues chairman Tom Stillman admitted that it was hard to see the club part ways with both T.J. Oshie and Barret Jackman this off-season.

"Honestly, (the Oshie trade) and Barret Jackman’s departure are, on a personal level, difficult for me," Stillman said. "It is really a hard part of the business. I’m comfortable we’re doing the right thing for the team and all, but those two individuals in particular are really wonderful people. I am sad to see them go. It’s weird to see how the guys can just be uprooted, especially in a trade."

Justin Williams believes that the Washington Capitals have all the ingredients to win a Stanley Cup.

"Obviously you need to earn respect of the league, and certainly L.A. has done that, and Washington is certainly doing that the way they’ve played the last couple years," Williams said. "Not making playoffs, you get to watch a little hockey, and I watched a lot last year. They were tough to play against, good goalie, dynamic players, good defense, all the ingredients of a championship team."

The Capitals believe that Tom Wilson has more to give offensively and they are expecting more from him in 2015-16.

"Willie is one of my favorites," coach Barry Trotz said. "I think he's got a great upside, but at the same time I don't see him as a fourth line winger for the Washington Capitals. To me, he's better than that." He saw plenty of playing time alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom during November and December, but he wasn't able to stick with them and was eventually bumped down the depth chart. Wilson notched four goals, 17 points, 172 penalty minutes and 205 hits in 67 games this past season. If he can take advantage of his larger role and add more offense to his physical game then he will have great fantasy value.

Jay Beagle has re-upped with the Washington Capitals on a three-year contract extension worth $1.75 million per season.

He was a pending unrestricted free agent who set personal bests with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 62 games last season. Beagle won 56.5 percent of his draws 2014-15 and he posted an incredible 63.8 winning percentage on faceoffs during the playoffs. "Jay is a hard-working player who plays multiple positions and is an excellent face-off man and penalty killer," said GM Brian MacLellan in a statement. "Jay has improved steadily since joining our organization and has always brought his game to a different level in the playoffs."

Niskanen did not have a good offensive season in his first year with Washington as he ended the season with four goals and 31 points after a 10 goal and 46 point effort with Pittsburgh in 2013-14. But the defenseman was certainly stellar offensively Friday to lead the Capital rearguards in points.

Carlson's power play effort was his first of the post-season. The 3-1 loss to the Islanders forces a Game 7 on Monday in Washington. "We know what we’re getting ourselves into," Carlson said. "We know they’re a team that forechecks hard. We know they skate and can move the puck and they’ve done that. We’ve got to do a better job slowing them down out of their zone and through the neutral zone. And we’ve got to bury our chances. I feel like we had a ton of them."

Alzner had five goals in the regular season which equaled the total of his previous three seasons combined and then followed it up with a two goal and four point performance in 14 playoff games. The fifth overall pick in the 2007 Draft is a solid blueliner and any offense he gives the Capitals is just a bonus. That being said, we would not suggest drafting him in pools next season.

Schmidt will make $750,000 next season and $875,000 in 2016-17. That sets the stage for him to spend the 2015-16 campaign with the Capitals, although we wouldn't be surprised if it's as the team's seventh defenseman. Even if he does play regularly, he probably won't do enough offensively to warrant picking up in standard leagues.

Braden Holtby believes the Washington Capitals grew a lot as a team last season.

"We grew a lot as a team and as an organization last year in order to gain the experience and confidence to groom ourselves into an elite level team," said Holtby. We’re getting there. It’s not going to be easy after last year. We still have to keep pushing forward, finding ways to get better and finding what the secret is to win a Stanley Cup. That’s ultimately what pushes us as players and the whole organization – to try to get better and to try to figure out the winning formula and that’s what we’re going to do. As long as it takes we’re going to do it."

Philipp Grubauer has inked a two-year, one-way contract with the Washington Capitals.

He will make $650,000 next season and $850,000 in 2016-17. Grubauer owns a 7-6-5 record in the NHL with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. He only played one game with the Capitals this past campaign, but his new deal paves the way for him to be Braden Holtby's backup next year.